Past exhibitions

Towner has been chosen as the Museum Partner for the 2019 edition of the London Art Fair, which takes place from 16 to 20 January. Towner will be presenting The Living Collection, an exhibition that celebrates the gallery’s rich heritage of collecting, exhibiting and championing contemporary art for almost a century.

This exhibition brings together six artists at the forefront of experimentation in filmmaking – Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, Jasmina Cibic, Lawrence Lek, Daria Martin, Hardeep Pandhal and Margaret Salmon – who are nominated for this year’s Film London Jarman Award.

The notion of the found object as artistic material, content and subject-matter provides the inspiration for The Everyday and Extraordinary, an exhibition presenting a Wunderkammer of modern and contemporary artworks drawn from the Arts Council Collection.

Towner Art Gallery’s annual open submission exhibition brings together the best artists from across East and West Sussex, from new talent to established figures. The 28 artists featured in this year's exhibition have been selected to celebrate the wealth of diversity and talent in the region. The selection includes painting, sculpture, drawing, print, photography, film and installation.

At Altitude is a selective look at the historical impact and the continuing appeal of the aerial image. Ranging from the exhilarating viewpoints of early aviation to the all-enveloping but flattening vantage point of Google Earth, the exhibition charts these changing perspectives, illustrating how the wonder of the overhead view was transformed through advances in technology as altitudes became higher and horizons more distant.

5000 Feet is the Best (2011) is a film about drone warfare and the pilots who operate these machines. Based on a series of interviews the artist conducted with a former drone operator now working as a Las Vegas casino security guard, the work takes its name from the optimum operational flight altitude of a US Air Force Predator drone – at a distance of 5000 feet drones can identify virtually anything.
5000 Feet is the Best was acquired for Towner’s Collection, in partnership with the Imperial War Museum, through Art Fund’s Moving Image Fund for Museums.

2018 marks the centenary of the death of Edward Stott (1855-1918), an artist described as 'the poet-painter of the twilight'. To mark this occasion and celebrate his work, Towner is presenting a long overdue exhibition of paintings from across Stott’s lengthy career.

This conceptual installation of paintings, sculptures and prints from the Towner Collection invites the visitor to inhabit the gallery spaces as they move through three defined settings. These immersive environments, created through the juxtaposition of the art works, inspire the imagination and encourage the viewer to find hidden connections by altering their perspective.

Natural Selection marks the culmination of a five-year collaboration between artist Andy Holden and his father, the well-known ornithologist Peter Holden. Their collaborative work takes us on an ornithological journey: from the building of nests to the collecting of eggs.

We stared at the Moon from the centre of the Sun, is a new exhibition curated by internationally acclaimed artist Haroon Mirza from the Arts Council Collection, including new works he has made to connect together his selection.